A new study has tabulated the toll from two decades of wildfires on air quality and human health in the continental U.S. The authors report that from 2000 to 2020, the air has worsened in the western U.S., mainly due to the increase in frequency and ferocity of wildfires causing an increase of 670 premature […]
The problem of foodborne metal contamination has taken on new urgency, thanks in part to a 2021 US Congressional Report detailing high levels of metals found in infant food pulled off grocery shelves. Food crops can absorb heavy metals from contaminated soil, air, and water. As a result, traces of dangerous heavy metals — lead, […]
Smoking shrinks the brain, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Since people’s brains naturally lose volume with age, smoking effectively causes the brain to age prematurely, the researchers said. Scientists have long known that smoking and smaller brain volume are linked, but they’ve never been sure […]
Advanced knee osteoarthritis is a major cause of pain and disability worldwide. In the U.S. alone, 14 million adults have symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, and more than half of those diagnosed are projected to eventually undergo total knee replacement surgery. While stronger muscle groups are generally understood to be associated with a lower rate of total […]
A new study published in BMJ Mental Health has found that individuals with severe mental illness are almost twice as likely to report physical multimorbidity, emphasizing the critical importance of addressing the intersection between mental and physical health. Multimorbidity is when a person is affected by any combination of chronic disease with at least one […]
Scientists from the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) analyzed more than 4,700 molecules — proteins, lipids, and metabolites — from 11 young firefighters who went through a rigorous training exercise, looking to understand what happens when the body undergoes intense physical exercise. For this study, the intent was to increase safety for […]
It’s already known that head injuries are common in young kids, especially from falling, and can be linked to mood disorders and social difficulties that emerge later in life. Adverse childhood experiences are also very common, and can raise risk for disease, mental illness and substance misuse in adulthood. “We wanted to understand whether experiencing […]
“People with epilepsy often face stigma that can cause them to feel different than others due to their own health condition and that can have a significant impact on their quality of life,” said study author Manjari Tripathi, MD, DM. “This stigma can affect a person’s life in many ways including treatment, emergency department visits […]
Middle-aged smokers are far more likely to report having memory loss and confusion than nonsmokers, and the likelihood of cognitive decline is lower for those who have quit, even recently, a new study has found. The research from The Ohio State University is the first to examine the relationship between smoking and cognitive decline using […]
In a randomized controlled clinical trial of adults with moderate-to-severe depression, those who participated in heated yoga sessions experienced significantly greater reductions in depressive symptoms compared with a control group. In the eight-week trial, 80 participants were randomized into two groups: one that received 90-minute sessions of Bikram yoga practiced in a 105°F room and […]